I'm sure everyone in Melbourne has been to Melbourne Central Shopping Centre, and noticed this building within a building. Completed in 1890, this structure stands 50 metres high, encased inside the iconic Melbourne Central glass cone.
Back in the old days, this tower was an ammunition factory. Speficically, this tower served to manufacture shots, which were lead spherical balls loaded into guns to be fired as projectiles. The tower was owned by the Coops family.
To make shots, molten lead were dropped from the top of the tower. At the bottom of the tower, these partially cooled lead balls were caught with a basin filled with water. This tower can make up to 6 tonnes of shots every week, until demand dwindled in 1961 due to new firearm laws.
That's a pretty interesting way that ammo is made. i never knew :)
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